Marie Powell's adventures in castle hopping across North Wales resulted in her young adult historical fantasy series, Last of the Gifted: Spirit Sight and Water Sight (Wood Dragon, 2020). She is also the author of Garden Song (Lilac Arch 2026) among more than 40 children's books ranging from Pre-K to middle grades with such publishers as Scholastic Canada, Amicus, Lerner, and Crabtree. Her poetry and fiction appear in literary magazines and anthologies, such as Sunlight Press, Room, and subTerrain, and her articles appear in more than 70 print and online magazines. Born in Moose Jaw, she now lives in Treaty 4 Territory in Regina, SK. Marie shares her work through workshops and readings in Canada and abroad, including the Historical Novel Society Conference in Ireland, Live Arts (SK Arts), the Sage Hill Teen Writing Experience, and Saskatchewan Writers' Guild's Virtual Writer-in-Residence program. As well, she serves as editor of SWG's Opening Doors Through Stories, a chapbook of writing by newcomers to Canada, and has edited Spring magazine for emerging authors and Windscript magazine for young adult writing. Marie holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from UBC, among other degrees. For more information see her website at https://mariepowell.ca
Channeling Your Creativity
This workshop will provide an opportunity to generate writing in multiple genres: poetry, fiction, and short creative non-fiction. Using a combination of presentation, discussion, and hands-on writing activities, we'll work with writing prompts and resources to inspire new writing and stimulate the participant’s writing life.
Living History - Research for Writers
It’s a basic tool in a writer’s toolbox, to deepen a wandering point-of-view, strengthen a sagging plot, draw atmosphere into a bland setting – or just cure temporary writer’s block. What is it? Research. Castle-hopping across northern Wales, being escorted by armed guards through the Che Guevara memorial, or finding yourself trapped by an elephant at Buckingham Palace — I have the photos! — it’s all research. Join me to explore the art of mining for details through examples, discussion, and hand-on exercises that will prove useful across genres.
The Life of a Writer:
With books ranging from Pre-K to young adult, I can tailor my presentation to your needs. My published books include fiction, nonfiction, and historical fiction, and my workshop topics have included historical research, the craft of writing, and the writing life. I use a combination of presentation, discussion, and hands-on writing activities to inspire creativity with fun prompts and exercises.
